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OPPO R15 announced, reveals the blueprint for the OnePlus 6

Not many people will know about OPPO, but smartphone aficionados know that OPPO devices are the design basis for future OnePlus smartphones. With the launch of the R15 from OPPO in China, we may already be able to take a look at the OnePlus 6. Here's everything we know about the blueprint for OnePlus' 2018 flagship killer.

Oppo's R15 follows today's trends with notch, glass, AI camera

OPPO just announced its R15 flagship in China, which comes in both a normal variant and a more premium Dream Mirror edition. Naturally, new device boasts all the trendy features of the moment, and a modern image that we can also expect to set the precedent for the upcoming OnePlus 6.

The R15 is made of aluminum and glass, while the Dream Mirror Edition also has a ceramic variant. Because OPPO targets the entry-level market, we don't see sister company Vivo's intriguing in-display fingerprint scanner on the R15. Instead, we get a traditional fingerprint scanner on the rear.

All variants boast a near bezel-less 6.28-inch FHD+ 19:9 aspect ratio OLED display with a 90% screen-to-body ratio (and a notch, of course), called a Super-V Display.

The iPhone X style notch which is being copied all over the place seems to be the current best solution for giving customers what they want—a front camera capable of accurately capturing the user's face as well as a display that fills the whole front side.

AI refines the art of the selfie

The OPPO R15 also follows the modern trend by featuring AI enhanced cameras. Both versions have a 16MP 1/2.6 Sony IMX519 sensor on the rear with 1.22μm pixel size and f/1.7 aperture.

Sadly, the main camera lacks Optical Image Stabilization, instead relying on Electronic Image Stabilization. However, the rear camera is enhanced with a built-in AI chip and 'Intelligent Scene Recognition' that can apparently recognize 16 kinds of scenes and 120 kinds of multi-scene combinations. This should save the user from fiddling around with camera settings.

Both models feature a secondary rear camera. On the R15,we find a 5MP sensor, while the Dream Mirror Edition features a 20MP secondary camera with f/2.0 aperture. Both have the same 20MP front camera with AI 'smart beauty' face capture tech, which can now recognize 296 face recognition points to help you perfect those selfies.

A choice of Mediatek or Snapdragon SoC

Before the official presentation event of the OPPO R15, rumors circulated about whether the R15 would use a Mediatek SoC or be one of the first devices to carry a Snapdragon 700 SoC. As it turns out, we get a choice of Mediatek or Snapdragon after all, although the R15 is released too early to carry a 700-series Snapdragon in any case.

The standard version of OPPO R15 is equipped with a 12nm Mediatek Helio P60 SoC while the Dream Mirror Edition (and its ceramic variant) uses a 14nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC. Both smartphones feature 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal memory that can be expanded via a microSD up to 256GB.

All variants have Dual SIM functionality, so you can choose between using two SIM cards or one SIM and a memory card.

OPPO R15 comes with a 3,450mAh non-removable battery, and the OPPO R15 Dream Mirror Edition includes a 3,400mAh battery. Both devices come with OPPO’s VOOC Flash Charging, and both include Bluetooth 5.0 and a USB Type-C port.

OPPO R15 Technical specifications

OPPO R15

Availability

China

Price

From around $473

Display

19:9 Display (AMOLED)

Resolution

2280 x 1080

Chipset

Octa-Core (MediaTek Helio P60 or Snapdragon 660)

RAM

6 GB

Internal storage

128 GB

Front camera

20 MP f/2.0

Rear camera

16 MP f/1.7 + 5 MP f/2.2 / 20MP f/1.7

Battery

3.450 mAh/3,400 mAh with VOOC quick charging technology

Operating system

Android 8.1 and ColorOS 5.0

Extras

4G VoLTE, 802.11 ac Wi-Fi (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5, GPS + GLONASS

Price and availability

The OPPO R15 has been announced in Snow White, Hot Red, and Star Purple color variants, for a price of 2,999 Yuan ($473).

The glass variant of the OPPO R15 Dream Mirror Edition comes in Red, and is priced at 3,299 Yuan ($520), while the Ceramic Black Edition of the phone has a price tag of 3,499 Yuan ($552).

Both the OPPO R15 and R15 Dream Mirror Edition will become available in China on April 1, with pre-orders already possible.

Three brands with one thing in common

The parent company of OPPO, BBK, is hardly known to anyone outside of China, but it should be. In addition to OPPO, BBK also includes the smartphone brands Vivo and OnePlus.

OnePlus emphasizes again and again that it is not a subsidiary of BBK, but the resemblance between the OnePlus 5/5T and the OPPO R11/R11s is astonishing. OPPO's VOOC quick charge technology also forms the technical basis for OnePlus' Dash-Charge technology. Both are even compatible with each other, so that an OP5T can be connected to an OPPO fast charger, for example.

If you add two and two together, then it can be assumed that the OnePlus 6, which is expected in the summer of 2018, will largely correspond optically to the OPPO R15.

Opinion by Shu On Kwok

The OnePlus 6 will look like the OPPO R15 but have better specs

What do you think?

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20 participants

There will undoubtedly be major technical differences, as OnePlus will use more high-end technology. It could well be that the OnePlus 6 will be the first member of the BBK family to house the fingerprint sensor under the display. In this case, the back of the OnePlus 6 would not have a sensor.

What do you think? Will the OnePlus 6 be based on the design of the OPPO R15 and will the flagship 2018 killer come with a notch and the fingerprint sensor under the display? Write your opinions in the comments and discuss with us.

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